Interdependence and competition between the religious and the secular: the welfare role of the Church in Croatia and Finland

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the welfare role of the Church in Croatia and Finland focusing on the way majority churches co-operate with secular authorities in social welfare. The main question is how co-operation is conditioned by the history of both differentiation between Church and State and the continuing strong position of majority churches in both countries, in particular within the context of the restructuring of the welfare state and the increasing role of non-state actors. Based on a review of the literature and the results of empirical qualitative data from three regions in each country, the article provides insights into the co-operation—both formal and informal—and in general confirms a complex interaction between the religious and the secular, which challenges the view of the strict separation between the two spheres. In terms of theory, and besides theories of distinctive welfare models and the specific history of Church–State relations, the article relies on the religious–secular competition theory to explain the research results.

KEYWORDS:

• Religion
• welfare
• competition
• interdependence
• Croatia
• Finland

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by authors.

Additional information

Funding

The research on which the article is based was a part of the project “Church in Today’s European Society” (2011–2015), funded by the Academy of Finland and led by Eila Helander.

Notes on contributors

Valdemar Kallunki

Valdemar Kallunki is the director of a university unit at Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Vantaa, Finland. He has the title ‘docent’ in both Church and Social Studies (University of Helsinki) and Comparative Religion (University of Turku). In the field of religious studies, his primary interests include secularisation theory, religious–secular interaction, and the social welfare activities of religious organisations. He has a background in leading multidisciplinary research.

Siniša Zrinščak

Siniša Zrinščak is Professor and Chair of Sociology in the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, and has been, since 2013, Professor of European and Comparative Social Policy in the Department of Social Work in the same faculty. His main scientific interests include religious and social policy changes in post-Communism, Church–State relations, European and comparative social policy, and gender. He has been involved in several, mainly international research projects and is the author of numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals and books.

CORRESPONDENCE: Siniša Zrinščak, Faculty of Law, Trg Republike Hrvatske 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.